A ketogenic diet is a very low carbohydrate, moderate protein and high fat based nutrition plan. A ketogenic diet trains the individual’s metabolism to run off of fatty acids or ketone bodies. This is called fat adapted, when the body has adapted to run off of fatty acids/ketones at rest.
This nutrition plan has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation. This leads to reduced risk of chronic disease as well as improved muscle development and fat metabolism.
These are my 10 favorite foods that I use with clients all the time to help them burn fat, build muscle and slow down the aging process. Pick out your favorites and use them regularly.
Coconut:
The medium chain saturated fats in coconut help to rev up the metabolism by boosting thyroid function. The thyroid plays a very important role in metabolism, fat burning & fat distribution. It also stabilizes blood sugar by enhancing cellular insulin sensitivity.
Best Buy: Get virgin or extra virgin coconut oil, raw coconut butter, coconut flour, coconut flakes, coconut milk and/or coconut meat. It is best to get organic, but it is better to have non-organic coconut than no coconut at all.
How To Use: Coconut oil is the best oil to cook with and you can use coconut butter, coconut milk and coconut flakes in a wide variety of recipes from smoothies to coconut flour muffins and coconut flour donuts.
Grass-Fed Beef & Wild Game:
These meat sources are extremely rich in Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). CLA is a powerful metabolic fuel that enhances glucose sensitivity. CLA is known to improve the ability of fatty acids to enter the muscle and connective
tissue cell membranes where they can be burned for fat.
Best Buy: Always look for 100% grass-fed beef. The label may say “grass-fed” beef but the cows could technically have been grain-finished and consumed grains for up to half of their life (usually at the end to fatten them up) in which case the meat will be more inflammatory and fat-storing!
How To Use: I typically recommend grass-fed beef or wild game 3-4 times per week. If you have lower iron levels, you can have it daily. If you have higher iron levels, better to have it only 1-2 times per week. If you struggle to digest it and get constipation or acid reflux, try using 1 gram of hydrochloric acid (betaine HCL) and digestive enzymes with
the meal.
Apple Cider Vinegar: (ACV)
Unpasteurized ACV is rich in acetic acid, B vitamins, potassium, enzymes and probiotics. The acetic acid stabilizes blood sugar, reduces insulin surges and improves satiety during and after eating.
Best Buy: The highest quality ACV is raw, unpasteurized with the mother intact. The mother is the fermenting piece of apple and is where the highest concentration of enzymes lie.
How To Use: Put 1-2 tbsps of ACV in 8oz of water and drink first thing in the morning or up to 30 minutes before a meal to improve digestion and reduce inflammation. You can also use this as a salad dressing and as a meat marinade to help improve the digestive process.
Lemon & Lime:
Lemon & lime contain citric acid, potassium, vitamin C & vitamin P. These unique nutrients provide a powerful bioelectrical approach that charges up energy levels, alkalizes the body, enhances liver detoxification and reduces
inflammation.
Best Buy: Because lemons and limes have a thick peel, it isn’t necessary to get them organic unless you are going to consume the peel (as in juicing them).
How to Use: Squeeze a quarter to a half a lemon/lime in water each morning (either with ACV or separate) and drink to start the day and up to 30 mins before a meal. You can also use lemon/limes as a salad dressing and as a meat marinade to help improve the digestive process.
Raw Goat Cheese:
Raw, unpasteurized cheese from grass-fed goats is one of the best foods on the planet. It contains tons of omega 3 fatty acids and CLA that are linked with healthy weight loss and improved muscle mass. It also contains healthy protein & fat soluble vitamins A, E, D3, & K2.
Best Buy: Look for an organic goat cheese or if you tolerate cow proteins like casein, you can get a 100% grass-fed cow cheese.
How to Use: You can snack on this throughout the day and add it to salads and/or meat dishes.
Chia Seeds:
Chia boasts an impressive array of flavonoid and polyphenol anti-oxidants including quercetin, kaempferol, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid. It has three times the amount of anti-oxidants as blueberries for equal volume. Chia is also loaded with the small chain omega-3 fatty acid ALA and soluble and insoluble fibers that help with regular bowel activity. These key nutrients make chia a powerful defense against every day stress and chronic disease processes.
Best Buy: Best to get organic chia seeds but conventional chia is better than no chia at all.
How to Use: Add 1-2 tbsps to smoothies, add them to meatballs, salmon or turkey burgers and other recipes.
Grass-Fed Butter:
Grass-fed butter and ghee contain the ideal ratio of omega 6: omega 3 fatty acids, which is especially important for optimizing cell membrane function and reducing inflammation. Grain-fed butter has a high omega 6:3 ratio which will promote inflammatory conditions in the body.
Grass-fed butter also has significantly more anti-inflammatory anti-oxidants than grain-fed butter. Butter and ghee also contain the small chain fatty acid butyrate which helps prevent and heal leaky gut syndrome and reduces whole
body inflammation.
Best Buy: Get grass-fed butter or ghee. If you have an auto-immune disease or serious dairy sensitivity than stick with ghee which has all the casein, whey and lactose removed.
How to Use: Add 1-2 tbsps to coffee or tea. Put this on steamed veggies, use it in baking recipes and add it to soups and stews.
Avocado:
This fruit is loaded with very good fats that enhance cell membrane activity, balance hormones and speed up metabolism. This is also one of nature’s richest sources of potassium which helps remove excess water and cellulite
from the body
Best Buy: Because avocados have a hard outer peel, it is not necessary to get these organic.
How to Use: Add avocados to smoothies to thicken them up. Add them to salads and meat dishes and make a tasty guacamole whenever possible.
Organic Eggs:
Eggs from pasture-raised chickens are the most nutrient rich and best for us. They are extremely rich in carotenoid anti-oxidants such as vitamin A&E as well as lutein and zeaxanthin. Eggs also contain omega 3 fatty acids and
healthy saturated fat that makes for strong and vibrant cell membranes.
Best Buy: Always look for “pasture-raised eggs” as these have the most nutrients. If you cannot find these, look for organic eggs. If both of these are unavailable, then get the cage-free eggs.
How to Use: Make scrambled eggs, sunny side up (preserves nutrients in the yolk) and omelets. Add these to baked goods and if you are really daring – try adding raw eggs to your smoothies for extra highly bioavailable protein and fat-soluble nutrients.
Bone Broth Protein:
Bone Broth Protein is full of collagen protein and glucosamino glycans that helps support the gut, skin, joints and nails. Although making your own bone broth offers fantastic benefits, you can get much of the concentrated protein to use in protein shakes through this product.
Bone Broth Protein is very rich in the amino acids glycine and cysteine. Cysteine is a critical agent used to make the super intracellular anti-oxidant glutathione.
A 2014 study found that ingesting glycine and cysteine supplements improved mitochondrial fuel oxidation (fat burning), insulin sensitivity and body composition.
About Laura Gold, RPh, ABAAHP
Laura Gold has been a practicing clinical pharmacist for over 20 years. A graduate from St. John’s University School of Pharmacy in Queens, NY and with an undergraduate education in compounding and natural medicine, Laura has served as a clinical pharmacist in various capacities within the pharmaceutical industry.
After realizing the need for a balanced approach between natural and allopathic medicine, she founded and operated her own compounding and nutritional pharmacy in Peoria, AZ, developing into a complete wellness center housing multiple integrative practitioners. During this time, she advanced her training as a compounding pharmacist through the Professional Compounding Centers of America, and most recently became a Certified Diplomate of the
American Board of Anti-Aging Health Practitioners.
She believes that, as a pharmacist, she is offered the perfect opportunity to integrate and fuse naturopathic and allopathic medicine with the creation of Fusion Medical Care. Patients seek natural solutions to remedy their health, while practitioners are looking towards innovative, integrative care practices to aid patients. At FMC, Laura supports the clinical team in caring for members’ pharmacological needs and serves as the patient’s advocate. Her mission is to educate and empower patients to feel great and look amazing by promoting this model: “let your food be your medicine, your kitchen be your pharmacy, and your lifestyle be your doctor.”
5900 N GRANITE REEF RD SUITE-102 SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85260
P:480-482-7077 F: 480-571-8818
www.fusionmedcare.com
